Don’t Excuse Lies
There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
– Proverbs 6:16-19
Does a lie ever justify itself? Is it okay to excuse a person for lying when he explains its purpose? Is it okay to stir up strife to further your own agenda?
A candidate running for vice president of our country now admits he lied about Haitian migrants eating people’s pets. He explained that he just wanted to draw attention to the migrants who are being located into different communities in our country.
JD Vance has done great harm with his repeated lies. Springfield, Ohio, has dealt with bomb threats against their schools. The tension and fear torments residents, including the Haitian migrants who are here legally. They have sought refuge in our country because of the violence in Haiti. Now this?
The ripple from Vance’s lie, which Trump has also told, has spread to other towns. This week a meeting over the Haitian migrants in my own town packed a local church. A church? The media wasn’t allowed in. I didn’t attend.
The police chief did speak to a reporter. He said the migrants haven’t caused any trouble beyond normal percentages throughout the community. (All groups – white, black, hispanic, etc. cause some trouble from time to time.) The Haitians seem to be hard-working people who simply want to build a life here.
Hatred and fear born of a lie. We’re so afraid of taxing our resources by people who “shouldn’t be here.” Have we forgotten that God can multiply anything that we give to Him so that we have more than enough?
It’s appalling to me that a church would host such an event. I am furious that political candidates would continue to stir up hatred and fear to further their own political ambitions. And I am more than disappointed that Christians fall into the mob mentality and blindly follow and excuse evil.
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
– 1 John 4:20-21
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
– John 13:34-35
Are you stirring up hatred or are you reaching out to others in love? Don’t claim to follow Jesus and demand that people made in God’s image be removed from your community. That’s not love. That’s not what Jesus would do.
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